Methods of providing telephone communication between the deaf and the hearing are described. The deaf person will require specialized equipment. The hearing person will need no special equipment and will enter information on the telephone dial. The system is essentially a voice/data package. The deaf person, if unable to speak effectively, uses a speech synthesizer to talk to the hearing person. The hearing person enters information on the telephone dial. The deaf person's system deciphers the incoming telephone digits and presents them as English text. The concepts described address two main areas: conversations with familiar persons; and conversations with strangers. The system(s) will serve a dual purpose: allow deaf people to make a simple unassisted telephone call; and to relieve the current burden on publicly-funded TTY relay services for calls of a routine nature.